After a couple of failed attempts in high school, I finally ditched meat for good when I moved out of my parents' house for college.
And I've stayed that way for almost 10 years.
"You don't know what you're missing!" sigh my carnivorous friends every time I pass on dive-bar hot wings.
So last week — which I'm now calling MEAT WEEK 2016 — I decided to live life as a meat-eater for seven days to see if I really don't know what I'm missing.
First off, let me say that I originally became a vegetarian because I love animals.
Like, a lot. So doing this was really, really hard for me.
And even though I eat fish, my motto has always been: I don't eat what I won't kill myself. (Yes, I do fish — sorry, Nemo.)
I also don't wear leather or fur. And when I buy eggs or dairy, I always try to buy products with a "certified humane" label.
And thus began the great MEAT WEEK 2016 experiment. I was worried about how my stomach would react to things like beef or pork, so I started with plain old chicken.
My boyfriend had to coach me through the cooking process. I was so worried that I would undercook it and give us both salmonella.
That first night, we made pan-cooked chicken with a spicy BBQ sauce, and sides of brown rice and steamed veggies (the things I was comfortable with already).
Here goes nothing...
So yeah. Chicken. Now I remember why I never liked it so much in the first place: It's got this sticky chew in your molars and it's dense as hell compared to fish or tofu.
Here's photo evidence (::cough cough mom and dad cough::) that I really did go through with this experiment.
I waited anxiously after the meal to see how my stomach would react.
Perfectly fine, I guess. I recorded my thoughts and #feelz afterward, and not a trace of indigestion.
"I still think I prefer meat substitutes though," I told my boyfriend.
But I took the leftovers to work for lunch the next day anyway (with a LOT more BBQ sauce on top).
Meat dish No. 2: I had part of an Italian sub (with ham, salami, and pepperoni) at a friend's birthday party. Nope, I didn't miss deli meat either. It was so salty — and it made me salty, too (lol).
This isn't my photo (it was too dark to take a decent picture), but this is essentially what the sub looked like.
I was running late when I had meat dish three, so I grabbed a small container of scrambled eggs and turkey bacon at Whole Foods. The turkey bacon wasn't too bad, actually.
On to the fourth meat meal: a chicken quesadilla. This was at another friend's birthday, and a bunch of us split it.
Realization: EVERYTHING is good when it's sandwiched between two layers of cheese and tortilla — even chicken!
That same night I ordered chicken fajitas as my main. The chicken was a lot more enjoyable once I was expecting the texture. But then, I got sick.
I'm not blaming the chicken, and I'm not blaming the restaurant — it could have been anything else I ate that night. But the next day — the last day of MEAT WEAK 2016 — I didn't have any meat at all.
But what about my promise to myself for ~*really trying*~ the things I was missing?
Well, I didn't get to the cheeseburger part, but my editor ordered hot wings to the office this week, and even though meat week was over, I still decided to try one just so I could follow through.
Not gonna lie — it was good. The flavor, anyway; the texture was still as chicken-y as I remember. It was sweet and tangy, and spicy, which I loved.
But do I feel like I'm "missing" something? Not at all. If anything, this whole experience reminded me why I became a vegetarian in the first place — because I still feel like I can eat deliciously (and ethically!) without meat on my plate.
You keep doing you, meat-eaters, and I'll keep doing me 🙂
